Retractable high heel shoe and shoe with retractable high heel

ABSTRACT

The present application discloses a retractable high heel for a shoe comprising a shoe base, a heel and a locking mechanism. The shoe base is coupled to a bottom surface of the shoe. The heel comprises a protrusion. The locking mechanism comprises a guide and a rotating shaft. The protrusion is slidably coupled to the guide. The rotating shaft is coupled to the guide. The protrusion is coupled at one end of the guide when the retractable high heel is at an extended state, wherein the protrusion is coupled at another end of the guide when the retractable high heel is at a retracted state. The shoe with the retractable high heel is also disclosed.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present application generally relates to shoewares, and more particularly, to a retractable high heel and a shoe with the retractable high heel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Generally, women need to have at least two different types of shoes for different situations such as party, work, class or banquet etc. Low heel shoes and high heel shoes are popular styles for women. However, women may need to bring different shoes if there are two different occasions at the same day. It not only increases the weight of the bag but also wastes time to change different shoes.

Therefore, a need remains for a retractable high heel and a shoe with the retractable high heel to provide women a more convenient way to change different style of shoes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present application discloses a retractable high heel and a shoe with the retractable high heel to provide women a more convenient way to change different styles of shoes.

The retractable high heel for a shoe comprises a shoe base, a heel and a locking mechanism. The shoe base is coupled to a bottom surface of the shoe. The heel comprises a protrusion. The locking mechanism comprises a guide and a rotating shaft. The protrusion is slidably coupled to the guide. The rotating shaft is coupled to the guide. The protrusion is coupled at one end of the guide when the retractable high heel is at an extended state, wherein the protrusion is coupled at another end of the guide when the retractable high heel is at a retracted state.

In various exemplary embodiments, wherein the shoe base comprises a pad located at an accommodation space of the heel at the extended state.

In various exemplary embodiments, wherein a shoe base comprises an opening. The heel further comprises a heel shaft and a heel body. The protrusion is coupled to one end of the heel shaft. The heel shaft passes through the opening and rotatably about the rotating shaft of the locking mechanism. The shoe base further comprises an accommodation space, the heel body is located at the accommodation space of the shoe base at the retracted state.

In various exemplary embodiments, wherein retractable high heel further comprises a locking unit. The locking unit comprises a cover, a fixer and a switch. The cover comprises a first groove and a second groove connected to the first groove. The fixer is movably coupled to the cover. The switch is coupled to the fixer, wherein an end of the heel is fixed at the first groove and the second groove when the switch is released. The end of the heel is fixed at the first groove during the extended state and is fixed at the first groove and the second groove during the retracted state. The fixer comprises a fixer base and a fixer protrusion coupled to the fixer base, the end of the heel is fixed at the second groove by the fixer protrusion. The cover further comprises a channel, the fixer base passes through the channel to couple to the cover.

In various exemplary embodiments, wherein retractable high heel further comprises a locking unit. The locking unit comprises a cover, a fixer and a switch. The cover comprises a first groove and a second groove connected to the first groove. The fixer is movably coupled to the cover. The switch is coupled to the fixer, wherein an end of the heel is fixed at the first groove and the second groove when the switch is released. The switch comprises a button and a spring, the fixer comprises a button holder and a support, the button is coupled to the button holder and the spring is coupled to the support. The shoe base comprises an opening, the button passes through the opening.

In various exemplary embodiments, the retractable high heel further comprises at least one screw for coupling the locking mechanism and the shoe base. In one embodiment, the retractable high heel of present application comprises three screws.

The shoe with the retractable high heel is further disclosed. The shoe with the retractable high heel comprises a shoe body and the retractable high heel. The retractable high heel is coupled to the shoe body and comprises a shoe base, a heel and a locking mechanism. The shoe base is coupled to a bottom surface of the shoe. The heel comprises a protrusion. The locking mechanism comprises a guide and a rotating shaft. The protrusion is slidably coupled to the guide. The rotating shaft is coupled to the guide. The protrusion is coupled at one end of the guide when the retractable high heel is at an extended state, wherein the protrusion is coupled at another end of the guide when the retractable high heel is at a retracted state.

In various exemplary embodiments, wherein the retractable high heel further comprises a locking unit. The locking unit comprises a cover, a fixer and a switch. The cover comprises a first groove and a second groove connected to the first groove. The fixer is movably coupled to the cover. The switch is coupled to the fixer, wherein an end of the heel is fixed at the first groove and the second groove when the switch is released. The end of the heel is fixed at the first groove during the extended state and is fixed at the first groove and the second groove during the retracted state. The fixer comprises a fixer base and a fixer protrusion coupled to the fixer base, the end of the heel is fixed at the second groove by the fixer protrusion. The cover further comprises a channel, the fixer base passes through the channel to couple to the cover.

In various exemplary embodiments, wherein the retractable high heel further comprises a locking unit. The locking unit comprises a cover, a fixer and a switch. The cover comprises a first groove and a second groove connected to the first groove. The fixer is movably coupled to the cover. The switch is coupled to the fixer, wherein an end of the heel is fixed at the first groove and the second groove when the switch is released. The switch comprises a button and a spring, the fixer comprises a button holder and a support, the button is coupled to the button holder and the spring is coupled to the support. The shoe base comprises an opening, the button passes through the opening.

In various exemplary embodiments, wherein the retractable high heel further comprises at least one screw for coupling the locking mechanism and the shoe base.

Based on the above, the present application allows users to switch between high heel shoes and low heel shoes simply by rotating the heel of the retractable high heel. In addition, the locking mechanism may provide a more convenient mechanism by sliding the protrusion of the heel inside the guide.

Furthermore, the combination of the cover and the fixer may even provide a more stable structure by fixing the end of the heel at the first groove and/or the second groove of the cover. Meanwhile, the switch provides the user a simple way to lock/unlock the locking mechanism.

Numerous other advantages and features of the present application will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of disclosed embodiments, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects, features and advantages of the present application will be more readily appreciated upon reference to the following disclosure when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to identify identical components in the various views, and wherein reference numerals with alphabetic characters are utilized to identify additional types, instantiations or variations of a selected component embodiment in the various views, in which:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing a she with a retractable high heel at an extended state.

FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing the shoe with the retractable high heel at a retracted state.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a guide and a rotating shaft of the present application.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a heel of the present application.

FIGS. 4A-4C are perspective views showing a mechanism of switching between high heel mode and low heel mode.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a cover and a fixer of a locking unit.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the fixer of the locking unit.

FIGS. 7A-7B are perspective views showing a mechanism of the locking unit.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the retractable high heel of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present representative embodiments of the present application, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing a shoe 10 with a retractable high heel 100 at an extended state. FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing the shoe 10 with the retractable high heel 100 at a retracted state.

Referring to FIGS. 1A-1B, the shoe 100 comprises the retractable high heel 100 and the shoe body 200. The retractable high heel 100 is coupled a bottom surface of the shoe body 200. The shoe body may be different kind of styles such as pointed shoe or round head shoe, the present application is not limited thereto as long as the retractable high heel 100 can be coupled thereon.

The retractable high heel 100 comprises a shoe base 110, a shoe heel 120 and a locking mechanism 130 (referring to FIGS. 4A-4C). The detail of the locking mechanism 130 will be described with FIGS. 4A-7B.

The shoe base 110 comprises an accommodation space 112, a pad 114 and an opening 116. The heel 120 comprises a heel shaft 122 and a heel body 124. The heel shaft 122 passes through the opening 116. The heel body 124 is located at the accommodation space 112 of the shoe base 110 at the retracted state as shown in FIG. 1B. The detail of the heel shaft 122 and the heel body 124 will be described with FIGS. 2-3.

During the extended state as shown in FIG. 1A, the pad 114 of the shoe base 110 is hidden by the heel 120. As such, the extended state presents a high heel mode of the retractable high heel 100. On the other hand, during the retracted state as shown in FIG. 1B, the pad 114 of the shoe base 110 is exposed and the heel body 124 of the heel 120 is located at the accommodation space 112, switching to a low heel mode of the retractable high heel 100. It should be noted that the location of the accommodation space 112 of the shoe base 110 is not limited at the bottom of the shoe base 110. The location of the accommodation space 112 can be anywhere at the shoe base 110 as long as the heel body 124 can be located during the retracted state.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a guide 131 and a rotating shaft 132 of the present application. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a heel 120 of the present application.

Referring to FIG. 2, the locking mechanism 130 comprises the guide 131 and the rotating shaft 132. The guide 131 of the locking mechanism 130 is coupled to the rotating shaft 132 of the locking mechanism 130. It should be noted that the rotating shaft 132 can be coupled anywhere at the guide 131 as long as the heel 120 (referring to FIGS. 1A-1B) can be rotated about the rotating shaft 132. The rotating shaft 132 of the present application is coupled at one end of the guide 131 as an example. The guide 131 and the rotating shaft 132 are molded integrally but the present application is not limited thereto either.

Referring to FIGS. 1A-FIG. 3, the heel 120 of the present application further comprises an accommodation space 125 and a protrusion 126. The pad 114 of the shoe base 110 is located at the accommodation space 125 during the extended state and is released from the accommodation space 125 during the retracted state.

The protrusion 126 of the heel 120 is coupled to one end of the heel shaft 122 but is not limited. The shape of the heel shaft 122 is irregular in the present application. However, the shape of the heel shaft 122 is not limited as long as the heel 120 can be rotated about the rotating shaft 132 of the locking mechanism 130. In addition, the heel shaft 122 is made of stainless steel as an example but is not limited either.

FIGS. 4A-4C are perspective views showing a mechanism of switching between the high heel mode and the low heel mode.

Referring to FIGS. 2-4C, the shoe base 100 comprises a top surface 110 a and a bottom surface 110 b. The heel body 124 is coupled to the locking mechanism 130 via coupling the protrusion 126 to the guide 131. Specifically, the protrusion 126 of the heel 120 is capable of sliding along the guide 131. As shown in FIG. 4A, the protrusion 126 is coupled at one end of the guide 131 when the retractable high heel 100 (referring to FIG. 1A) is at the extended state. Specifically, the protrusion 126 is coupled at the end of the guide 131 which is nearer the rotating shaft 132 during the extended state, switching to the high heel mode.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the protrusion 126 is sliding along the guide 131 when pulling down the heel body 124. Specifically, the protrusion 126 is coupled at another end of the guide 131 which is farther from the rotating shaft 132 after pulling down the heel body 124.

Referring to FIG. 4C, rotating the heel body 124 about the rotating shaft 132 of the locking mechanism 130 after pulling down the heel body 124. As shown in FIG. 1B and FIG. 4C, the pad 114 is exposed and the heel body 124 is located at the accommodation space 112 of the shoe base 110, changing to the retracted state. During the retracted state, the heel body 124 is parallel to the bottom surface 110 b of the shoe base 110 and the retractable high heel 100 is switched to the low heel mode. The shoe base 110 may further comprise a block 115 to fix the rotating shaft 132 at a stable location but the present application is not limited thereto as long as the rotating shaft 132 can be disposed at a fixed location.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a cover 134 and a fixer 135 of a locking unit 133. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the fixer 135 of the locking unit 133.

Referring to FIG. 5, the locking unit 133 comprises the cover 134 and the fixer 135. The cover 134 comprises at least one hole 134 a-c, a channel, a first groove 134 d and a second groove 134 e. The present application comprises three holes as an example, but the present application is not limited thereto as long as the cover 124 can be coupled stably to the shoe base 110. The fixer 135 is movably coupled to the cover 134 by passing through the channel of the cover 134.

Referring to FIG. 6, the fixer 135 comprises a fixer base 135 a, a fixer protrusion 135 b, a button holder 135 c and a support 135 d. The fixer base 135 a passes through the channel to couple to the cover 134 (referring to FIG. 5). The fixer protrusion 135 b is vertically coupled to the fixer base 135 a in the present application. However, the present application is not limited thereto as long as the fixer protrusion 135 b can fix the heel 120 (referring to FIG. 4A-4B) during the retracted state.

FIGS. 7A-7B are perspective views showing a mechanism of the locking unit 133.

Referring to FIGS. 7A-7B, the fixer protrusion 135 b is vertically protruded relative to the cover 134 after passing the fixer base 135 a (referring to FIG. 6) through the channel of the cover 134.

As shown in FIGS. 7A-7B, the locking unit 133 further comprises a switch 136 coupled to the fixer 135. Specifically, the switch 136 comprises button 137 and a spring 138. The button 137 is coupled to the button holder 135 c (referring to FIG. 5) of the fixer 135. The spring 138 is coupled to the support 135 d (referring to FIG. 5) of the fixer 135.

Referring to FIGS. 4A-4C and FIGS. 7A-7B, the rotating shaft 132 is located at the first groove 134 d and the heel shaft 122 is removably located at the second groove 134 e when coving the cover 134 onto the shoe base 110 (referring to FIG. 8).

When the spring 138 is released, the heel shaft 122 is fixed at the second groove 134 e by the fixer protrusion 135 b as shown in FIG. 7A. When the spring 138 is compressed, the heel shaft 122 is able to be removed from the second groove 134 e since the first protrusion 135 b is moved as shown in FIG. 7B. At this moment, the user may rotate the heel 120 about the rotating shaft 132 for switching between the high heel mode and low heel mode.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the retractable high heel 100 of the present application.

After horizontally flip the cover 131 as shown in FIGS. 7A-7B onto the shoe base 110, the retractable high heel 100 is assembled. Referring to FIGS. 1A-1B and FIG. 8, the shoe base 110 further comprises an opening for the button 137. As such, the button 137 can pass through the opening to expose a pressing portion of the button 137. The user may press the button 137 to switch between the high heel mode and the low heel mode.

The retractable high heel 100 may further comprise screws 140 for coupling the locking mechanism 130 (referring to FIG. 1B) and the shoe base 110.

Based on the above, the present application allows users to switch between high heel shoes and low heel shoes simply by rotating the heel of the retractable high heel. In addition, the locking mechanism may provide a more convenient mechanism by sliding the protrusion of the heel inside the guide.

Furthermore, the combination of the cover and the fixer may even provide a more stable structure by fixing the end of the heel at the first groove and/or the second groove of the cover. Meanwhile, the switch provides the user a simple way to lock/unlock the locking mechanism.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present application without departing from the scope or spirit of the present application. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present application cover modifications and variations of this application provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A retractable high heel for a shoe comprising: a shoe base coupled to a bottom surface of the shoe; a heel comprising a protrusion; and a locking mechanism comprising: a guide, the protrusion is slidably coupled to the guide; and a rotating shaft coupled to the guide, wherein the protrusion is coupled at one end of the guide when the retractable high heel is at an extended state, wherein the protrusion is coupled at another end of the guide when the retractable high heel is at a retracted state.
 2. The retractable high heel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shoe base comprises a pad located at an accommodation space of the heel at the extended state.
 3. The retractable high heel as claimed in claim 1, wherein a shoe base comprises an opening, wherein the heel further comprises a heel shaft and a heel body, the protrusion is coupled to one end of the heel shaft, the heel shaft passes through the opening and rotatably about the rotating shaft of the locking mechanism.
 4. The retractable high heel as claimed in claim 3, wherein the shoe base further comprises an accommodation space, the heel body is located at the accommodation space of the shoe base at the retracted state.
 5. The retractable high heel as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a locking unit comprising: a cover comprising a first groove and a second groove connected to the first groove; a fixer movably coupled to the cover; and a switch coupled to the fixer, wherein an end of the heel is fixed at the first groove and the second groove when the switch is released.
 6. The retractable high heel as claimed in claim 5, wherein the end of the heel is fixed at the first groove during the extended state and is fixed at the first groove and the second groove during the retracted state.
 7. The retractable high heel as claimed in claim 6, wherein the fixer comprises a fixer base and a fixer protrusion coupled to the fixer base, the end of the heel is fixed at the second groove by the fixer protrusion.
 8. The retractable high heel as claimed in claim 7, wherein the cover further comprises a channel, the fixer base passes through the channel to couple to the cover.
 9. The retractable high heel as claimed in claim 5, wherein the switch comprises a button and a spring, the fixer comprises a button holder and a support, the button is coupled to the button holder and the spring is coupled to the support.
 10. The retractable high heel as claimed in claim 9, wherein the shoe base comprises an opening, the button passes through the opening.
 11. The retractable high heel as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one screw for coupling the locking mechanism and the shoe base.
 12. The retractable high heel as claimed in claim 11, wherein the retractable high heel comprises three screws.
 13. A shoe with a retractable high heel comprising: a shoe body; and the retractable high heel coupled to the shoe body and comprising: a shoe base coupled to a bottom surface of the shoe; a heel comprising a protrusion; and a locking mechanism comprising: a guide, the protrusion is slidably coupled to the guide; and a rotating shaft coupled to the guide, wherein the protrusion is coupled at one end of the guide when the retractable high heel is at an extended state, wherein the protrusion is coupled at another end of the guide when the retractable high heel is at a retracted state.
 14. The shoe with the retractable high heel as claimed in claim 13, wherein the retractable high heel further comprises a locking unit comprising: a cover comprising a first groove and a second groove connected to the first groove; a fixer movably coupled to the cover; and a switch coupled to the fixer, wherein an end of the heel is fixed at the first groove and the second groove when the switch is released.
 15. The shoe with the retractable high heel as claimed in claim 14, wherein the end of the heel is fixed at the first groove during the extended state and is fixed at the first groove and the second groove during the retracted state.
 16. The shoe with the retractable high heel as claimed in claim 15, wherein the fixer comprises a fixer base and a fixer protrusion coupled to the fixer base, the end of the heel is fixed at the second groove by the fixer protrusion.
 17. The shoe with the retractable high heel as claimed in claim 16, wherein the cover further comprises a channel, the fixer base passes through the channel to couple to the cover.
 18. The shoe with the retractable high heel as claimed in claim 14, wherein the switch comprises a button and a spring, the fixer comprises a button holder and a support, the button is coupled to the button holder and the spring is coupled to the support.
 19. The shoe with the retractable high heel as claimed in claim 18, wherein the shoe base comprises an opening, the button passes through the opening.
 20. The shoe with the retractable high heel as claimed in claim 13, wherein the retractable high heel further comprises at least one screw for coupling the locking mechanism and the shoe base. 